Why I Never DNF Books

Don’t worry, I’m about to preach that you should do as I say, not as I do, as I try to convince myself to kick this awful habit.

If I could instantly eradicate one of my own behaviours forever it would be my desire to finish every book I start, even if I despise it after the first twenty pages. I’ve probably failed to complete very few books in my life, not because I like every book I read, but because I can’t imagine not giving a book a fair chance to at least entertain me. In this post, I want to talk about why I never ‘did not finish’ (DNF) books—even if it takes me a long time to read them—and why I think you should do the opposite.

Unfortunately, I’m the kind of person who so desperately wants to give almost everything a chance before I decide I don’t like it and I can be far too forgiving with my judgements, especially when it comes to books. I would (un)happily drag myself through a boring, irritating, or plain bad book, waiting for it to give me something to label as a redeeming quality. The characters may be cardboard but that one place they spent four out of the three hundred pages in was quite cool, I guess. Why, I ask myself after the gruelling experience, do I continue to bother?

One reason could be that there is something alluring about things that are so bad they’re good. They raise so many questions about why particular choices were made, how serious the creator was about their work, and whether they care that while someone clearly appreciates what they’ve created, others really do not. We all love to complain about things we dislike, and I’m no stranger to this kind of emotional purging. However, in a more productive sense, identifying what you don’t like about something can be a good way to narrow down your tastes, and if you’re a reader who likes to write it can also help you understand bad writing, or at least what you want to stay away from yourself.

On the other hand, I’ve occasionally started a book and been unsure about reading on, only to find around 50-100 pages in that I’m really enjoying it. Maybe a well-done twist occurs, or characters I could not initially connect with have finally caught my attention. These experiences have led me to consider the fact most books have potential, and that they were clearly published for a reason, so I might as well read everything I can get my hands on, right?

Wrong. As a reader, you have no obligation to finish a book just because you’ve started it even if it was recommended by someone you trust who loved it, whether that be an influencer or a close friend. You are not morally or socially bound to like a book because everyone or anyone else does. You do not have to finish a book if you don’t want to. Put it down and move on. Unless you’re studying it. Then maybe you should pick it back up again and skim it.

I mentioned books that get better as they go on, but most writing advice centres around including a strong beginning to hook your readers into your story, and if an author fails to do that, you are well within your right to put the book down and move on to the next one. Not to sound clichéd or dramatic, but you do only have one life and how you spend it is important. Would you rather look back at your life and wonder why you wasted time reading so many things you hated, or thank yourself for cultivating a reading list of books that stay with you for years beyond reading the final page?

Enjoying the books you read is more important than being able to say you read them, so if you’re struggling to get past page ten, put that book down and find something else that you don’t have to actively remind yourself to read.